The Top 10 Punk Albums of 2024

Punk has been in an interesting place. There is no shortage of people claiming to play it, but to find real punk driven by the desire to not conform is a harder aspiration, given the masses' willingness to conform.   These albums captured the true spirit of punk, by doing their own thing. It was a competitive year for the genre, and tough choices had to be made.   After I sort through the top 10 albums of all the respective genres, I use those lists to compile the top 10 albums of the year. 2024The very fact that these bands made it on the list speaks to how great these albums are, so it's not a slight that the number 8 album is above the 9th album, there is something that just gives it an edge that makes me want to listen to it more. After all, we can try to look cool and pick the hippest bands for a list, but at the end of the day what makes an album the best is that it makes you want more, you look forward to listening to it again. Perhaps you can find your next favorite on this list; and have included links to reviews of these albums if you want to check out the audio on these guys. Anyway here are the top 10 Punk albums of 2024

10 -Modern Life is War -"Tribulation Worksongs" 

This compilation of their three most recent 7"s makes it clear they know what they are doing, making them one of the most solid punk bands going today.  Despite screaming their way through the  Stooges cover,  here they prove themselves, and at least they know who the Stooges are making them real punk. 

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/01/modern-life-is-war-tribulation-worksongs.html

 9-Seeyouspacecowboy- "Coup de Grace" 

This album finds them in a more kinetic grooving take on hardcore that is not unlike Callous Doaboys sonically, though leaning in a more Myspace-influenced era of sound. There is an equal balance of sass and substance. The breakdowns are not delivered predictably, though the hooks are poppy enough to conform to expectations in this regard. 

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/07/seeyouspacecowboy-coup-de-grace.html

9-Amyl and the Sniffers- "Cartoon Darkness" 

At times this Australian band indulges in pop-infected bliss thanks to the pla7ful attitude of their frontwoman Amy Taylor. She must have listened to The Spice Girls and the Runaways in equal measure as a kid., and typically carries the album with her charisma. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/10/amyl-and-sniffers-cartoon-darkness.html

                 

7-Chain Cult -"Harm Reduction" 

This band from Greece has a punk energy to them though the guitar tone rings out with a darker nuance. The ocals stay firmly on the punk side, against the creepy bass lines and the guitar's spectral tension. All factoring in to sound that is more interesting than your average punk band. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/10/gothtober-chain-cult-harm-reduction.html

6-Drug Church -"PRUDE" 

 These guys came out blazing in all the right ways on their new album. It has a hard-core drive, but still some hooks and melody, though the vocals are more roared. This is a moodier album that t makes me think of Bob Mould, but pumped up on modern hardcore production values.  Yet this is not as in-your-face as a hard-core album is, but enough to earn its place here. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/10/drug-church-prude.html

5-Rotten UK - "Agent of Chaos" 

Remember when punk was fun? It cared about songs and thrashed with a darker mood lurking under it. Yeah, I am talking about bands like the Exploited and GBH. Bands that obviously influenced this band, take the angry fire and make their own sound with it. Not only did they capture the sound, but they also wrote song catchy songs while not compromising the aggression getting there. They know the finer points of riffs and dynamics. Perfect music for the current state of things.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/04/rotten-uk-age-of-chaos.html

 

4- High Vis -"Guided Tour '

This time around things are not as tense or dark, in fact, the guitar jangles and rings out with a tone that owes more to "Joshua Tree" era U2. I don't need them to be post-punk so the more upbeat songs work for me as they are well written and sound great. The London-based band leans more toward a punk thing for the second song, though it is more nuanced than most punk. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/10/high-vis-guided-tour.html

3-Whores- "WAR" 

 After an 8 year wait, the Atlanta band is back with their biggest most polished album yet. This more refined, could even be thought of as more accessible.  The Spinal Tap-like cycling out of drummers finds them with drummer number five Douglas Barrett behind the kit. A great deal of the punk sound has been shed, for hooky syncopation that feels more anthemic.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/04/whores-war.html

 

2-Alakine Trio-""Blood, Hair and Eyeballs" 

Everything seems dialed in tighter for this album. Their melodic sensibility sometimes reminds me of Bad Religion if they were into the Addams Family instead of politics. It might not be the most rebellious or rowdy punk album you will hear this year, but it is going to be hard to beat the kind of presentation they have dialed in here. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/01/alkaline-trio-blood-hair-and-eyeballs.html

1-Gouge Away -"Deep Sage"

 Been six years since the Flordia punk band released their last album. They return with the kind of angular dissonant hardcore-tinged rock you expect from them.  Christina Michelle is crying out with the same level of abrasive edge she had last time around. The album gains more nuance with each song, and it is more of a sonic tapestry than the raw outpouring of emotion they initially hit you with. They have matured to perfection here. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/03/gouge-away-deep-sage.html

The Top 10 Rock Albums of 2024 ... so far

That time of year again. These lists serve as a decent snapshot of where the year is heading in terms of music. I have already received promos for albums dropping as far out as August in my inbox, so they are really going to need to bring it to compete with the top five albums on this list. There are links to full reviews if you want to check these out, and with all that said, here are the top 10 rock albums of 2024 so far 

10-Ride - "Interplay"

I really liked the first album of their comeback"Weather Diaries", and this album is both more surreal and more optimistic. I am sure with the last album I mentioned these guys occupying a similar sonic zip code as Stone Roses. Though it sounds like they are smoking more pot than Stone Roses on this album as it carries an alluring swirl. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/04/ride-interplay.html

 

9--Modern  Life is War - "Tribulation Worksongs" 

They work off of a very high in-your-face energy. From what I can make out of the lyrics I can appreciate the sentiment. these guys are solid and what I look for from punk even if they did just scream their way through the Stooges cover, I can live with it, at least they know who the Stooges are making them real punk. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/01/modern-life-is-war-tribulation-worksongs.html

 

8-Pallbearer- 'Mind Burns Alive" 

The fifth album by a band that was at one time one of my favorite doom bands. Each album has served as a gradual progression away from doom into what has culminated into what we hear on this album. Campbell is using a great deal of restraint and taking a more vulnerable approach to his singing. If you are waiting around for them to bring the metal back you might want to take a seat .  It took a couple of listens to this album before it finally clicked with me, as the first listen found me having to adjust to the change. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/04/pallbearer-mind-burns-alive.html

 

7-Alkaline Trio - "Blood , Hair and Eyeballs"

They are making very catchy pop-punk with dark underpinnings. I have enjoyed everything I have heard from these guys in the past. but everything seems dialed in tighter for this album. Their melodic sensibility sometimes reminds me of Bad Religion if they were into the Addams Family instead of politics. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/01/alkaline-trio-blood-hair-and-eyeballs.html

 

6-Modern Witchcraft -"s/t" 

These guys play an ethereal style of atmospheric doom that owes more to The Cure than Black Sabbath. At times this puts them closer to Deftones, as the melody is given more emphasis. The emotions of these songs wash over you. Sounds swirl around you. It is heavier in feel than it is heavy metal. The groove is an undercurrent. Though considering the Lander sisters of Kittie fame appear on this album, there is some nu-metal in this band's DNA. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/02/modern-witchcraft-st.html

5-REZN- "Burden"

The new album from Chicago's Sonic Sorcerors finds them expanding their minds and sound by buckling in with a dark grooving drive that might not be metal, but it is aggressive enough to get the point across. They continue to explore new realms of ambiance as the plea of the vocals echoes out into the expansive place they have created here. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/05/rezn-burden.html

4 -Whores- "War"

After an 8 year wait, the Atlanta band is back with their biggest most polished album yet. This more refined, could even be thought of as more accessible.  The Spinal Tap-like cycling out of drummers finds them with drummer number five Douglas Barrett behind the kit. A great deal of the punk sound has been shed, for hooky syncopation that feels more anthemic.  Their best album yet. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/04/whores-war.html

3-O Zorn!- "Vermillion Haze" 

This band sounds like they could have crawled from the period of the 90s  when Kyuss and Monster Magnet emerged, both of whom are not far removed from the sonic zip code from which these guys rock. There is an expansive drone to the riffs that carry a hypnotic pulse as the baritone croon muses amid the grunge-tinged passages.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/03/o-zorn-vermillion-haze.html

 2-Gouge Away - "Deep Sage" 

 Been six years since the Flordia punk band released their last album. They return with the kind of angular dissonant hardcore-tinged rock you expect from them with Christina Michelle crying out with the same level of abrasive edge she had last time around. The album gains more nuance with each song, and it is more of a sonic tapestry than the raw outpouring of emotion they initially hit you with.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/03/gouge-away-deep-sage.html

 

1-Sleepytime Gorilla Museum " Of the Last Human Being"  

This band returned after I spent the last 17 years thinking their last album was the final chapter, so I went into this hoping for the best album ever.  Sleepytime Gorilla Museum has reopened to attempt to make their best album yet. 2007's "In Glorious Times" is a perfect album, so they are not trying to take it head on but in a more mature step forward, emphasizing more of the chamber music side, while employing all the creepy dissonance they are known for. 

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/02/sleepytime-gorilla-museum-of-last-human.html

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April's Top 10 Albums

Already time for April's top 10 albums. Staying abreast on the month's highlights might help casual readers see what they missed, and give this the option to check these artists out. I am not doing little blurbs on them, just linking the reviews. This will help me organize my lists for the end of the year, by listing the genre of music the album falls under. This does not mean that these albums have been released this month, but it is a list of new or upcoming albums I have enjoyed the most, I have albums in my in-box that are not coming out til July, so I am normally way ahead of the curve in this regard. They are ranked in order of what I have listened to the most. This month there is a wide variety from Shoe-gaze to pop to hard-core, so you may find your new favorite among them. Here are the Top 10 albums for April 2024.

10-Darkthrone-"It Beckons Us All" 

Metal

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/04/darkthrone-it-beckons-us-all.html

9- Ride - "Interplay" 

Indie rock

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/04/ride-interplay.html

8-Terminal Nation - "Echoes of the Devil's Den

Hard Core

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/04/terminal-nation-echoes-of-devils-den.html

7-Pallbearer-"Mind  Burns Alive" 

Doom -gaze

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/04/pallbearer-mind-burns-alive.html

6- Pearl Jam - "Dark Matter" 

Rock

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/04/pearl-jam-dark-matter.html

5-Whores- "War" 

Noise Rock

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/04/whores-war.html

4-Snow Strippers -"Night Killaz Vol 2" 

 Pop

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/04/snow-strippers-night-killaz-vol-2.html

3 METZ- "Up On Gravity Hill" 

Post-punk

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/04/metz-up-on-gravity-hill.html

2-Glassing- "From the Other Side of the Mirror" 

 

Post-metal 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/04/glassing-from-other-side-of-mirror.html

1- Taylor Swift -"THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT" 

Pop

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/04/taylor-swift-tortured-poets-department.html

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WHORES: "War"

 After an 8 year wait, the Atlanta band is back with their biggest most polished album yet. This more refined, could even be thought of as more accessible.  The Spinal Tap-like cycling out of drummers finds them with drummer number five Douglas Barrett behind the kit. A great deal of the punk sound has been shed, for hooky syncopation that feels more anthemic.  The manic energy of "Heironymous Bosch Was Right" finds the band still retaining some of their punk DNA.  I suppose when it comes to 90s radio's definition it still fits, as it is at least as aggressive as Bad Religion. After repeat listens it begins to grow on me. 

Then there are arena-rocking riffs that hold more common ground with Rage Against the Machine on "Hostage Therapy". Though overall this is a display of the more intentional display of songwriting, as these songs are all catchy as hell recalling the days when music was both fun and dangerous. Lyrically this album displays a great deal of growth as every verse is a clever commentary. "Back When I Was Savage" is the most straightforward song so far, and feels like it could have been left over from the sessions of their previous album. 

"Sicko" is convincing in its angry stomp that creates a compelling groove, lyrically it makes you wonder if he is yelling about the Covid days. 'the Death of a Stuntman " is one of the album's most smartly written songs. Lyrically it might be inspired by Christian's day job working in the movie biz in Atlanta. If you are looking for the more rough around the edges sound of the band's previous work the closest you are going to come is "Everyday is Legday". It sounds at times like a less radio-friendly version of an angrier Foo-fighters. "Imposter Syndrome" uses the squeal of feedback as window dressing for Jesus Lizard-like tension. This is the band's strongest work to date and is a portrait of a punk band that grew up into a full-fledged rock band. I will give it a 9.5, the closest they have come to perfect. 

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Whores : "Gold"

This Atlanta trio has been gaining some buzz. They are devout followers of the path paved by the Amp Rep bands like Unsane, Helmet, Jawbox, the Jesus Lizard and Killdozer. Back in the day when this noise-rock or post hard-core movement of band's emerged they were for hipsters who wanted something with more teeth than Sonic Youth. Whores carries this torch. The opener is impressive in it's out burst of energy. I where the vocals sit on the verse going into this it reminds a little of older Today is the Day. They lock into kicking up the dirt in a more syncopated manner for " Baby Teeth". Sonically it stays in a similar place as the opener with waves of feed back and plenty of punches.

The song titles have tongue in cheek irony to them and it's all very clever. I have never really thought of this sort of thing as metal as it owes way more to punk than say Iron Maiden. It is very dense and well produced for the sound they are going for. The vocals are yelled in an angry monotone bark. When it comes to this sort of thing I like the Jesus Lizard because there is a darker chaos to what they do. Here a manner of restraint is employed, though the noisy bits of feed back around some of the sharp riffing creates a little sonic ambiance. One of my favorite song titles on this album is "Mental Illness As mating Ritual". This one allows the vocals to lament a little more over the verses.

"Ghost Trash" goes more Helmet with it's groove. At time it bares it's teeth more than Page Hamilton and the boys have lately, though I am going to review the new Helmet album "Dead to the World" when I am done with this so I guess we shall see. There is a more straight forward punk attitude to "Charlie Chaplin Routine". It comes clawing at you full throttle to the point of almost becoming a blur of white noise. The vocals serve more purpose on "Of Course You Do" that balances out a mean bass tone with some breathing room to give a little more dynamic range. My second favorite song title on this album is " I See You Also Wearing a Black T-shirt". This one is another more punk ditty. At this point in the album the vocals are beginning to bore my a little as they retain a similar snarl throughout, but the drumming on this song is impressive.

"Bloody Like the Day Your Were Born" feels more solidly written and nuanced,  it might be my favorite song on the album. The first dynamic ebb in energy is on the more deliberate crunch of "I Have A Prepared Statement". I like this side of the band more than the relentless frantic beating they give your ears for the bulk of this album. It has some strong moments, but not as varied in mood as most of the music I listen to. I hated their cover of the Cure's "Jumping Someone Else's Train" so this is a vast improvement. I'll give this album an 8, though I personally don't see myself returning to it, if this is your thing then it might give you things the new Helmet album won't I guess I'll find out in ten seconds.

Digging Into the Covers- Whores/Rabbits Vs the Cure

To some extent you might think I would be the perfect audience for this as my tastes are split almost 50/50 goth(post-punk) to metal, though metal might lead 60 to 40 percent if we got down and tracked my listens.In some ways it makes sense as I have always heard the Swans and Killing Joke influence in Neurosis albums so early goth/postpunk is certainly an influence. Despite coming from a more Amp Rep background Whores  almost come closer to getting the darker elements right, but in both cases the vocals are the draw back.
I can understand these bands not wanting to sacrifice some of the hipster factor back making a more emotive stab at the vocals and attempting a Robert Smith approach, who was a little more dead pan himself in the bands earlier punk days, but it really takes away from the meat of the song.The changes of arrangement was expected going into this, though thought the bass might stick closer to Dempsey's tone. However the sludge treatment in both versions creates more of a sluggish wall of sound than lending such distinctions.

Whores covered the 1979 single "Jumping Someone's Train". The vocals come a little closer as Smith was a less dynamic singer during the early stages of the band's career and went for a simplistic punk attitude. Lembach employs a more Page Hamilton like phrasing to the way the main vocal line over accents the lyrics. They are more narrated and less sung. The lumber and feedback doesn't obscure the song, the doubled vocals on the chorus stray the farthest. There is a very Page Hamilton like phrasing to the way the main vocal line over accents the lyrics. They are more narrated and less sung. I has to go back and listen to the song again because I was surprised they did not go after the drum accents that the Cure using in the final 30 seconds of the original because they seem to lend themselves to a Neurosis like pounding, instead the go into more of a rolling tom fill and stop rather abruptly.


The Rabbits took a swing at "Give Me It" from their 1984 album "the Top". The more Neurosis elements, I could have heard in the Whores' version are delivered, here but Rabbits when full tilt at the song and lost all sense of dynamics, except for the more brooding intro which is the only place the song is allowed to breathe. The coarser vocals serve as a reminder that bands like like all too often make the vocals an after thought, as they seemed to be haphazardly screamed like an Eyehategod song.

If you are a fan of the Melvins and not a fan of the Cure, you have a better chance of liking this.It's not something I really feel that I need taking up space on my iPod, as the originals are already on there. So it's a mixed bag, the Cure is such a revered band that it seems as safe of a choice to cover as if they had picked Joy Division. Though their goth cred would have been more noted if they had chosen Swans or Mission U.k....whens a Fields of the Nephilim sludge cover album coming out ?